This Was Television On August 29
1967: Dr. Richard Kimble stops running
After being pursued across the country for four seasons and 120 episodes, Dr. Kimble—a.ka., The Fugitive—found justice at last. The drama’s twin manhunts, as the wrongfully accused Kimble tracked the one-armed man who murdered his wife while police led by Lt. Gerard tracked Kimble, culminated in “The Judgment, Part 2.” Drawing over 25 million viewers, it was at the time the most-watched TV episode ever to air.
Contemporary crime dramas frequently copied The Fugitive‘s “one-armed killer” gimmick: the Impossible Missions Force hunted the “one-eyed spy,” Friday and Gannon confronted the “one-legged dope fiend,” and the Man from U.N.C.L.E. squared off against the terrifying “one-buttocked assassin.” -A.D.
Today’s Birthdays: Elliot Gould, father figure (74); Carla Gugino, Marshal (41); Robin Leach, lifestyle chronicler (71); Betty Lynn, Mayberrian (86); Lea Michele, songstress (26); Isabel Sanford, Weezy (d. 2004).
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